The US domestic scrap market settled down between $10-$15/mt in September and many are wondering if the market could see another correction in October. Scrap prices in the US East coast Philadelphia region trended down approximately $15/mt this month, with HMS I/II settling at $185/mt, shredded scrap settling at $215/mt and P&S scrap settling at approximately $205/mt.
Sources close to SteelOrbis say they lack confidence when it comes to the stability of the domestic market, especially since export scrap cargos to Turkey have softened in the past three weeks; in late August, cargos for HMS I/II 80:20 were being transacted at $230/mt CFR; the most recent cargos have been booked at approximately $205/mt CFR. “When the East coast mills re-enter the market we expect them to buy about half of what they’d usually buy,” according to one SteelOrbis source, “it’s just an ugly situation. The mills don’t want to buy and very few people are willing to sell at these prices.”